Blue Piper Perabo as Suzie Jeff Daniels as Abe Pierce Gagnon as Cid Summer Qing as Joe's Wife Tracie Thoms as Beatrix Garret Dillahunt as Jesse Nick Gomez as Dale Production Looper was written and directed by Rian Johnson, originally conceived as a short film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, shortly after making Brick, Johnson's first feature. After Johnson released The Brothers Bloom in 2008, he re-teamed with producer Ram Bergman, who produced Johnson's previous two films, with the goal of starting production of Looper in 2009. In May 2010, Gordon-Levitt was cast in one of the lead roles, which he would play after completing Premium Rush. Later in the month, Bruce Willis was also cast. In the following October, Emily Blunt joined Gordon-Levitt and Willis. Noah Segan, Jeff Daniels and Piper Perabo were cast in January 2011. Filming began in Louisiana on January 24, 2011. Makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji created the prosthetics that Gordon-Levitt wore in the film so that he would physically resemble Willis. The film's score was composed by Nathan Johnson, Rian Johnson's cousin. Talking about Looper and time travel in film, Rian Johnson said: Other influences cited by Rian Johnson include The Terminator, Witness, Akira, Domu: A Child's Dream, 12 Monkeys, Timecrimes, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Release Theatrical Looper premiered on September 6, 2012, at the opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was then released theatrically in the United States on , 2012 by FilmDistrict, who obtained the domestic rights from production company Endgame Entertainment at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. In turn, FilmDistrict chose to release the film with Sony Pictures, over their genre label TriStar Pictures. The Chinese release of the film reintegrates a substantial number of scenes set in Shanghai. The move was requested by Chinese production company DMG Entertainment in order to further appeal to Chinese audiences. Several of these scenes were shortened or cut for the American release. Johnson released a free audio commentary on SoundCloud (which was heavily requested after making one for The Brothers Bloom) to be downloaded and listened to during the film, with the warning: "Needless to say, this is NOT to be listened to on a first viewing, or before you've seen the film." Home media The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in North America on December 31, 2012. The film was also released on January 28,